US President Barack Obama on Tuesday called on Republicans to put partisan politics aside and consider his eventual nominee to succeed late Supreme Court justice Antonin Scalia, who died over the weekend.

The Constitution is pretty clear about what is supposed to happen now. When there is a vacancy on the Supreme Court, the president of the United States is to nominate someone," Obama told reporters in California.

He lamented the "venom and rancor in Washington," which he said had "prevented us from getting basic work done," adding: "Now, this would be a good moment for us to rise above that."